Daugherty: Bengals' win defies explanation

Team overcomes blunders to edge one of NFL's best

Sep. 23, 2013

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Marvin Lewis couldn't possibly have expected to have such a big post-game smile just after his team had turned the ball over on four consecutive offensive possessions during the first half. / The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

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OK, you tell me.

As the coaches and players like to say: “You saw it. Write it.’’

Because in the immediate aftermath of Bengals 34, Green Bay 30, I’m having a little trouble. The swivel on my head is broken, the memory of all the goofy plays is failing. I’m just going to sit over here and breathe into this bag.

Andrew Whitworth has been here eight years. Long enough to endure Ocho and shake his head at T.O. and see lots of players come and go. He knows what he knows. Except when it comes to the action he witnessed at PBS Sunday afternoon. About that, Whitworth’s knowledge is somewhat fuzzy:

“I was trying to figure out what was going on. At one point, I thought we were up 21-0, then I thought we were down 50-0. Then I looked up and it was 16-14. I had no clue.

“You tell me,’’ Whitworth said.

No chance, chief. Sorry.

Late in the game, I did see Aaron Rodgers zip-zip-zipping the Green Bay Packers down the field, toward what would be a go-ahead and most likely clinching touchdown. If anyone were capable of making sense of this game, it would be Rodgers, the league’s best quarterback.

Then I saw Michael Johnson pop the ball from Green Bay’s airborne running back Johnathan Franklin, on 4th-and-1 from the Bengals 30-yard line. Reggie Nelson, Bengals safety, scooped up the fumble. He ran it for six yards, and he fumbled, too, of course he did. Terence Newman, Bengals cornerback, picked up the flopping football, and took it 58 yards for the touchdown to put Cincinnati ahead, 34-30.

And this was the only way anyone was going to win this game.

There’s no logical explanation for eight turnovers (four a side) or the Bengals turning a 14-0 lead into a 30-14 deficit, or the Packers blowing it from there. There is no explaining how a Bengals rookie running back (Gio Bernard) averaged more per rush (5.0 yards) than Rodgers averaged per pass attempt (4.6).

No team since 1999 had allowed its opponent to score 30 unanswered points, and still manage to win. There are more goofy records associated with this game. Find them elsewhere in our coverage. I’m busy reassembling my wits.

This was one weird football game. And yet. . .

From its chaos, a few truths emerged:

 The Bengals are edging into the NFL’s front row. By Monday morning, they will be national darlings.

 They have a seriously beastly defensive line. It’s great to be young, gifted and tall.

 They are mature enough to overcome any and all craziness.

Of course, truth is fleeting in the NFL. What you know you know today gets laughed at tomorrow. As Marvin Lewis said, “This is all for naught if we don’t take care of business the next week and the next week. That’s what the NFL is.’’ All one win does is leave you feeling a little better as you chase the next one.

We could look back at this game three months from now and see the beginning of Special. Or we could look at it and see an afternoon’s amusement.

But the way the Bengals beat the Packers was instructive. The play of the front four – specifically defensive ends Michael Johnson (6-foot-7) and Carlos Dunlap (6-foot-6) – was so effective, it allowed the Bengals to drop seven men into pass coverage. Rodgers was threading needles all game. “He didn’t have too many places to throw it,’’ noted Adam Jones.

Dunlap and Johnson knocked down Rodgers’ last two throws of the game, after Green Bay had moved to the Bengals 20.

Beyond that, the Bengals tackled well. Green Bay’s receivers excel at running after they catch the ball. They didn’t do much of that Sunday. “Swarm the ball, wrap up, tackle’’ were the orders defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer gave his players all week, according to Domata Peko.

As much as anything, the Bengals won this game between the ears. They kept their heads, while the rest of us were losing ours. A 16-point deficit, four turnovers in nine plays, a couple questionable personal foul calls. Any or all might have knocked the focus right out of them. None did.

“This game, three or four years ago, we lose,’’ Whitworth said. “This is different. We’ve got a lot of talented guys, yes. But also a lot of guys that care about football.’’

Allow Lewis the final word:

“If we want to be a good team, we’re going to (have to) beat good teams,’’ the coach said.